Ed Sheeran Quick Links

Sheeran will be releasing something - a new album or new single - on January 6th.

Ed Sheeran has been teasing his fans about the title of his forthcoming new album on social media, as well as providing possible clues about some of the lyrics with some cryptic Twitter posts.

Yesterday (January 2nd) the 25 year old singer suggested in a short gif video that his third album could be coming out this Friday, writing underneath in the caption that there would be an announcement or release on “6 January, 5am GMT”.

The micro-clip sees a ‘subtract’ sign turning into a ‘divide’ symbol and then a colon, seemingly confirming speculation that the new album would be called either ÷ or -, in keeping with the mathematical theme of his first two records + and x.

'25' sold more than Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Sam Smith put together in 2015 - despite only being on sale for the last five weeks of the year!

Confirming what we essentially already knew, Adele’s global domination is total, with the news that her latest album 25 outsold the rest of the top five bestsellers around the world put together in 2015.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a global body representing the music industry, reports that her long-awaited third album sold 17.4 million units in 2015, despite only coming out in late November. As a result, the organisation concludes that Adele has helped to reverse “two decades of almost uninterrupted decline” in the music business.

Everyone’s favourite ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ segment, ‘Mean Tweets’ made a comeback on Tuesday’s edition of the late night talk show and this may be the meanest one yet. The segment’s third music special featured stars including One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Demi Lovato, who all had to read out some of the shadiest (and funniest) comments made about them on social media.

One Direction were forced to confront a mean tweet on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'.

While Ed Sheeran might be enjoying huge success stateside, it seems not everyone’s a fan. The red-haired singer read out a tweet which proclaimed: ‘I can't stand this new Ed Sheeran. Like why TF are you happy on your records. You’re a f****** ginger for f**** sake’.

Sheeran's record label anticipate the follow-up to 'X' arriving within the next 12 months, but the star himself is slightly wary.

Ed Sheeran has dropped a big hint about the possible release date of his next album – and it could see him come into direct competition with Adele when it comes to awards season!

The British singer-songwriter, still enjoying huge success with his second record X, released 16 months ago, has announced that his record label is weighing up the possibility of a September 2016 release date for the next one. However, Sheeran himself is sceptical as it would mean competing with arguably the biggest star in the world.

“Adele is releasing her album in the same Grammy category,” the megastar told Billboard about the prospect release date of a new record. “I don't know if I'm brave enough to go up against her.”

You nearly had us there, James Franco! This actor has sent rumours flying around after unveiling a tattoo of Emma Watson's FACE on his NECK. Needless to say, it wasn't actually real; merely a startlingly elaborate Photoshop job from artist Cheyenne Randall. Though it did get us thinking about all the real tats celebs have gotten over the years.

Ed Sheeran has taken his guitar to the beach down under as an extra on Home and Away! The talented crooner gave acting a whirl on Wednesday’s (28 October) episode playing Teddy - one of the children that Marilyn Chambers looked after when she lived in the UK and worked as a nanny.

Singing star Ed Sheeran cameoed in Home and Away

The Thinking Out Loud singer makes a huge impact when he arrives in Summer Bay as he is introduced to Marilyn’s family.

Sheeran co-presented the EMAs with Ruby Rose on Sunday night, but his rowdier-than-normal antics caused some to speculate whether he was drunk.

They’re supposed to the ‘sensible alternative’ to the showbiz blowout of the VMAs, but the MTV Europe Music Awards at the weekend provided a surprising number of talking points – not least the sight of a slightly drunk Ed Sheeran proving once and for all that he’s not just some bland nonentity.

The superstar, who picked up two awards during the evening as well as sharing the hosting duties with ‘Orange Is The New Black’s Ruby Rose, put in a gloriously half-cut performance that had many viewers commenting with amusement on his antics.

Justin Bieber picked up two awards last night and also performed single ‘What Do You Mean?’

Justin Bieber picked up two of the biggest awards at last night’s MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan. The singer, who has made a career comeback in recent months, was named both best male and best worldwide act: North America, also taking to the stage to perform hit single ‘What Do You Mean?’

Justin Bieber picked up two awards at last night’s EMAs.

Accepting the best male award, Bieber said: “Wow, thank you. It’s been a long couple of years, um, I just feel like this is pretty awesome to be recognised for my music. I just want to say thank you to all of my fans, you guys are really incredible.”

After signing to Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records, Lawson has topped the UK album chart for the first time.

Singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson has topped the UK album chart for the first time with his self-titled fourth album. The 39 year old was the first act to be signed to Ed Sheeran’s label Gingerbread Man Records earlier this year and managed to keep his mentor’s album x from reclaiming the top spot in the charts this week.

Jamie Lawson has scored his first number one album.

Speaking to the Official Charts Company Lawson said, “It’s amazing. Thank you to the fans. I’m kind of new for most people so it’s amazing how people have taken to me in such a warm, kind, loving way. I’m very grateful, thank you very much.

Ed Sheeran's exhilarating Wembley shows are revisited with his brand new documentary/concert film 'Jumpers For Goalposts'; for which the premiere took place at London's Leicester Square last night (October 22nd 2015). The film is set to play in UK cinemas throughout the weekend - so don't miss it!

Ed Sheeran played his first ever headline stadium show at Wembley this year

Along with the world premiere of the film, Leicester Square also hosted a special performance by Ed Sheeran, which was subsequently broadcast in theatres throughout the world. The movie is coming to the general public this weekend, giving UK audiences who were unfortunate enough to miss him live their first glimpse into his x Tour; and, even better, their first glimpse into his biggest ever show. Not only that, but the film also documents his life on the road; a familiar place for Sheeran, who sofa-hopped throughout the country in the early days of his career.

In July of 2015, Ed Sheeran played his biggest gigs to date, selling out Wembley Stadium to tens of thousands of his most loyal fans. When asked where the name 'Jumpers for Goalposts' came from Ed explains 'because we keep on moving them' explaining that when he hits one target, the bar is continuously being risen.

When Atlantic Records first signed Ed Sheeran, it's easy to believe that even they didn't envisage his rise to fame to hit such heights in a short amount of time. Since the release of his debut album + in 2011, Ed's had a number of number one singles and both albums have hit the top of the chart in the UK with his follow-up X finally giving him a number one album in the states (in 2004) reaching Platinum status in the UK, US, Australia, Canada & New Zealand.

Jumpers for Goalposts will be available to watch in select cinemas from October 23

Ed Sheeran - Ed Sheeran seen leaving the afterparty for his premiere in London. The singer was pictured leaving with his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn. - London, United Kingdom - Friday 23rd October 2015

The 24 year old ‘Thinking Out Loud’ singer is now Dr. Ed Sheeran, after receiving the honour from University Campus Suffolk (UCS).

Despite leaving school at 16, Ed Sheeran can now add ‘Doctor’ to his title, after receiving an honorary doctorate degree for his "outstanding contribution to music" from University Campus Suffolk. Accepting the honour, Sheeran shared some words of wisdom with the students, saying that degrees 'aren't essential’ for everybody.

The MTV EMAs ceremony comes from Milan this year, and Taylor Swift is up for a record-breaking 9 awards.

Pop megastar Ed Sheeran and TV star Ruby Rose have been unveiled as the co-hosts for this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan.

Both stars have revealed their excitement at being selected to host the event together, which is being held at the Mediolanum Forum in the northern Italian city on October 25th.

Sheeran announced to his 15 million Twitter followers on Wednesday (September 30th) that he had been picked to present. “So happy to say I'm hosting the #MTVEMAs on 25th October! Cannot wait,” he wrote.

It was a night filled with big name duets at the annual Global Citizen Fest.

Ed Sheeran must have felt like he was dreaming on Saturday night, when he got to join Beyonce onstage at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival for a duet of her hit song ‘Drunk in Love’. Sheeran frequently covers the track but this was the first time he had performed his stripped down acoustic version with Queen Bey herself.

Ed Sheeran joined Beyonce at this year’s Global Citizen Fest.

Beyonce brought out Sheeran mid-way through her set which had already included Destiny’s Child classics and a remix of ‘Crazy in Love’. But the New York crowd went wild for the Sheeran duet, which was a highlight of the already star studded festival.

It's a record-breaking haul for Swift, as she was nominated in every possible category she could have been.

Just a fortnight after trouncing the opposition at the VMAs, Taylor Swift looks set for another strong performance at MTV’s Europe Music Awards. She’s up for a record-breaking total of nine trophies in the EMA nominations, which were announced on Tuesday (September 15th) via MTV’s Snapchat Discover channel.

‘Bad Blood’, the fourth single from 1989 which also features Kendrick Lamar, is the centre of attention, nominated in three categories (Best Song, Best Video and the newly-created prize for Best Collaboration). Furthermore, Swift was nominated in every possible category that she could have been – Best Pop Act, Best Live Act, Best Female, Biggest Fans and Best Look.

Taylor Swift at the MTV VMAs in August, with her "squad" of celebrity pals

A survey of 2,287 British parents with young children and were asked about the best and worst celebrity role models.

Miley Cyrus has been voted the worst celebrity role model for children in a new survey of British parents. A whopping 78% of parents of children under 10 say that the former ‘Hannah Montana’ star is “off the rails” and wouldn’t want their kids to idolise her.

The survey by British website vouchercloud.com asked 2,287 British parents, all of whom have at least one child under the age of 10, the question: “are there any celebrities you would hate for your children to idolise?” and were provided with a list of male and female celebrities to select from.

The divisive tattoo he seemed to have gotten two weeks ago now turns out to have been a prank.

For years to come, we would all remember where we were when we saw Ed Sheeran’s startling lion tattoo for the first time. Except we won’t, as Ed has today revealed that the inking was in fact a hoax.

The megastar singer posted a picture on Instagram of his upper torso, where the tattoo of a lion’s head had been when he showed us the apparent artwork two weeks ago, writing underneath: “Was only joking about the lion.”

The British pop superstar filmed a handful scenes for the soap when he was on tour Down Under earlier in 2015. He’s set to play the role of Teddy, who is revealed to be one of the children to whom Marilyn – one of the show’s long serving characters, played by Emily Symons – was nanny to when she lived in Britain.

His character visits Summer Bay, and treats everybody to a special performance at The Diner when they realise that he’s actually Ed Sheeran, the chart-topping singer.

First One Direction now Ed Sheeran is said to be taking some time off, but it's all for a good cause.

Ed Sheeran is reportedly planning to take a month off from the music world to volunteer at a local charity shop. According to The Mirror, all-round lovely chap Ed will be working at a Sue Ryder shop in Framlingham, Suffolk and is also in talks to set up a new youth centre in the town.

Ed Sheeran is reportedly taking some time off to do some good.

The singer is known for his generosity towards charity shops and last year he donated eight bags of clothing to the St Elizabeth Hospice charity shop in the town, raising more than £4,000. He also donated outfits he had taken to the Grammy Awards to the same store back in March.

The singer-producer proposed to his girlfriend live on stage at V Festival in Essex earlier today.

Celebs have been more romantic than ever this year, making surprise appearances at ordinary couples' weddings, helping friends propose live on stage, and even popping the question themselves in front of huge audiences. And Labrinth continued the trend today (Saturday 22 August) by asking his girlfriend, Muz, to marry him, live at V Festival in Essex.

Labrinth has asked Muz to marry him

The singer-producer was performing at the annual event at Hylands Park in Chelmsford when he got down on one knee and proposed to his long-term partner, to the delight of thousands of fans.

The former Boyzone singer tied the knot with his Australian girlfriend Storm Uechtritz on Monday, and Sheeran surprised the guests by performing a couple of songs.

Ed Sheeran was among the celebrity guests at Ronan Keating’s marriage to Storm Uechtritz, taking the time to perform a small set and serenade the newly married couple, a report says.

According to Irish entertainment news website goss.ie, the globally popular star performed a handful of songs before being joined on stage by Ronan himself and his former Boyzone bandmates Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch at the star-studded do in Scotland.

Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Pearl Jam and Beyonce will be among the performers at the free-ticket event next month in New York.

Hugh Jackman and Stephen Colbert have been announced as some of the big name hosts of next month’s Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park.

The Global Citizen Festival, which was launched in 2012 as part of 15 year campaign to end extreme poverty worldwide by 2030, made the announcement via its website on Thursday morning (August 13th).

Salma Hayek, Olivia Wilde, Kerry Washington and Deborra-Lee Furness, Jackman’s wife, have also been confirmed as emcees for the free-ticket event which takes place in Central Park on September 26th this year.

The multi-million selling star will be given the award by University Campus Suffolk later in 2015.

He quit school at 16 after his GCSEs in order to pursue a career in singing, but Ed Sheeran is set to be awarded with an honorary degree later this year to reflect his “outstanding contribution to music”.

The pop megastar, who recently completed three nights of sold-out gigs at Wembley Stadium at the end of his extensive world tour, will have the honour bestowed upon him at a ceremony at University Campus Suffolk (UCS) in the autumn. He is among a number of people to be honoured at the same time as 1,800 other graduates on a date yet to be confirmed but believed to be in September or October.

The huge lion tattoo has divided fans, but Sheeran reacted when Keane singer Tom Chaplin took to Twitter to deride it.

Ed Sheeran has addressed the division in his fanbase over his newly inked lion tattoo, saying that he doesn’t care what anybody thinks and that his is the “only opinion that matters”. Well that’s cleared that up then.

Over the weekend, the 24 year old megastar took to Twitter and Instagram to show off his latest tattoo, that of a giant lion across his chest and between his nipples, with the caption ‘Halfway and ouch’ underneath it. His millions of fans quickly responded to the striking artwork, many of them not loving it at all.

The ‘Descendants’ soundtrack might be on top, but overall album sales are declining in the US.

The soundtrack to Disney TV movie Descendants has debuted at Number One on this week’s Billboard album chart. The album is now the fourth soundtrack to take the number one spot so far this year, following in the footsteps of Empire, Furious 7 and Pitch Perfect 2.

But the Descendants soundtrack has also earned the unfortunate title of being the lowest selling album to take the top spot since Nielsen Music began tracking album sales in 1991. The soundtrack sold just 42,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 6 to take the top spot.

The former Pussycat Dolls singer, 37, is said to be in the “early stages of dating” with the popular 24 year old Sheeran, according to The Sun. Scherzinger apparently found comfort and solace in Sheeran’s songs in the aftermath of her split from Hamilton, and things took off from there.

The British singer posted a picture of herself leaving Abbey Road studios, where the last theme song was recorded, with the caption 'That's a wrap!'

Ellie Goulding seems to have dropped her biggest hint yet that she’ll be singing the theme song for the upcoming James Bond movie Spectre.

The 28 year old British singer posted a photo on Instagram of herself leaving the legendary Abbey Road recording studios in North London on Monday night (July 27th), writing “That’s a wrap!” as a caption. Soon afterwards, bookmakers began suspending betting on the odds of her singing the soundtrack, on which she’s rumoured to be collaborating with fellow Brit Sam Smith.

Ed Sheeren has been cast in the role of Sir Cormac, the deadly sidekick of a church elder, in the upcoming historical fiction drama series, ‘The Bastard Executioner’.

Ed Sheeran has been cast in a recurring role on the upcoming FX drama, The Bastard Executioner. Kurt Sutter, the creator of FX’s Sons of Anarchy, has created the upcoming series which is set in 14th century Britain.

Ed Sheeran at the unveiling of his waxwork in Madame Tussauds, New York, in May 2015.

Ed Sheeran has been playing Cupid again, this time helping Kodaline bassist Jason Boland propose to his girlfriend.

Ed Sheeran had already told fans to expect something special at his concert at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday (25 July), and he wasn't kidding, as the evening included a surprise marriage proposal.

Ed's a good egg

After calling the Frames frontman Glen Hansard and Kodaline on stage to perform Irish classics including 'The Auld Triangle', he handed the spotlight to Kodaline bassist Jason Boland, saying, "Jay from Kodaline would love to say a few words."

The streaming revolution has gained some serious steam in Britain, as for the first time ever more than 500 million songs were streamed online in a single week. It’s the first time the number of weekly streams has hit the half a billion mark and it’s is nearly double the number of songs streamed just a year ago.

The 505 million streams happened in the chart week ending July 16th and takes into account services such as Spotify, Deezer and Google. 2015 is said to have seen 11.5 billion streams to date, with more than 25 billion streams being predicted by the end of the year. According to The Guardian, when YouTube is included, the total is expected to top 50 billion.

The singer has received the most nods at this year's awards to be hosted by Miley Cyrus

Taylor Swift has topped the MTV VMA award nominations with a staggering total of nine nods. It’s a far cry from 2009 when self-proclaimed "genius" Kanye West interrupted the country singer’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video and claimed it should have gone to his friend, Beyoncé. Looking back, that doesn't look like an entirely ‘genius’ move from Mr West.

Everyone's favourite pop star has topped the nomination list at this year's VMAs

Taylor, whose popularity just continues to grow and grow, has topped the list of the most nominations for this year’s Video Music Awards, which were announced on Apple Music’s Beats 1 platform.

The singer believes that being able to change his parents' lives makes it all worth it.

He may be one of the biggest pop stars of the moment, but it's not the money, or the awards, or even the screaming fans that make the climb to the top worth all the hard work. Rather, Ed Sheeran says the biggest reward of fame is his ability to change his parents' lives for the better.

Ed Sheeran, family man

The 'Thinking Out Loud' singer told The Mirror that the highlight of his career so far is "being able to really pay my parents – not just financially – but being able to give them the things they wouldn't have ever dreamed of...

The rap star's second album 'Dreams Worth More Than Money' sold nearly a quarter of a million copies to storm to Number One, selling more than the rest of the Top Five combined.

Rapper Meek Mill has scored his first American Number One album, with his second effort Dreams Worth More Than Money entering at the top of the Billboard 200 in its first week with sales of nearly a quarter of a million over all platforms.

The Philadelphia-born star, real name Robert Rahmeek Williams, sold 246,000 copies of his sophomore effort in the week ending July 5th including 215,000 traditional album sales (i.e. excluding stream and track equivalents). His first album, 2012’s Dreams and Nightmares, peaked at Number 2 as a new entry, and three years later he’s gone one better.

Rapper Meek Mill is celebrating his first Number 1 album with 'Dreams Worth More Than Money'

The track which features Bruno Mars has racked up over 45 million streams so far this year.

Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk, featuring Bruno Mars, has been named the most streamed track of 2015 so far, in a list compiled by OfficialCharts.com. The track has already notched up just over 45 million streams since January, giving it a total of 51.3 million since its release last December.

Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’ is the year’s most streamed song so far.

The year’s second most streamed track is reggae-pop hit ‘Cheerleader’ from OMI, which has been streamed over 40 million times. The track was released back in April and hit the number one spot during its third week of release.

The ‘Shake it Off’ singer and her famous pals celebrated Independence Day in style, along with her new beau Calvin Harris.

If you spent your fourth of July weekend eating burnt hotdogs and watching underwhelming fireworks in the backyard then be prepared to feel very jealous of Taylor Swift. The singer pulled out all the stops this weekend to give her pals a fourth to remember, hosting a lavish bash at her Rhode Island home.

The veteran singer-songwriter had been waiting nearly 50 years for a US Number One album.

Throughout his lengthy and prestigious career, singer-songwriter James Taylor has achieved many great things, but a US Number One album has always eluded him: until today! Taylor’s 47 year wait for a Billboard chart topping LP came to an end this week as it was announced that his new effort Before This World had outsold all rivals.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, Taylor’s 17th studio album sold 97,000 copies in its first week of release to debut atop the Billboard 200, with 96,000 of those coming through actual album sales (as opposed to streaming or track equivalents). His very first album, a self-titled effort, was released in December 1968 but only achieved a chart peak of Number 62 in the US.

The 'Thinking Out Loud' star is reportedly to be the subject of a special concert movie, filmed at his upcoming Wembley Stadium gigs.

Ed Sheeran looks set to join the increasing ranks of pop stars with their own concert movies, just like One Direction, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, with reports that his upcoming Wembley mega-gigs are to be transformed into a cinematic experience.

Reports emerged in The Sun on Wednesday (June 24th), quoting Ed as saying “We are doing something for the Wembley Stadium gigs. It will be a documentary. It's going to go out in cinemas in the UK and Europe. But it's just going to be a one-off thing.”

Sydney Bourbeau got an incredible surprise while singing at the West Edmonton Mall over the weekend.

Ed Sheeran gave one fan the "most incredible experience of her life" over the weekend, when he joined her onstage for a duet of his hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’. Sydney Bourbeau had been performing the song at the West Edmonton Mall as part of a fundraising concert for the Edmonton Humane Society, when she was joined onstage by the man himself who happened to be in the vicinity.

Ed Sheeran surprised a fan singing at an Edmonton Mall over the weekend.

"I had just finished taking my microphone out of the stand, so I thought someone was just coming up to grab the stand or fix something", Bourbeau told E! News.

'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' is Number 1 in the UK and the States at the same time, only the ninth album this decade to do so.

Florence Welch may be recovering from a broken foot, but she’s got even more good news to make her feel better, as the third Florence + The Machine album has entered the American charts at Number One, her first record to reach the summit in the States.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful sold 137,000 copies in its first week on sale to debut at the top spot in the Billboard 200 albums chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As a result, Florence is one of the few artists who have managed to top the American and British albums charts at the same time – the ninth act to do so in the 2010s and the first since Ed Sheeran’s X last year.

Florence Welch is celebrating being Number 1 in the US and the UK at the same time

UK albums and singles generated approximately $2.75 billion in world sales last year.

One Direction and Ed Sheeran led a record breaking year for British artists in 2014, who had five of the top 10 best-selling albums worldwide. More than one in seven albums sold worldwide last year were by British artists, giving them a record 13.7% share of the global market.

One Direction’s Four was the highest selling British album of 2014.

One Direction led the way with Four, which was the biggest-selling album by a UK artist in 2014, with 3.2 million in global sales. The boyband came in second over all and were only beaten by Taylor Swift’s 1989 which sold six million copies worldwide.

Ellie Goulding may have been on a ‘few dates’ with One Direction’s Niall Horan but she was never romantically involved with Ed Sheeran.

Ellie Goulding has confirmed and denied a few relationship rumours we’ve been curious to know are true or false for some time. The 28-year-old singer is currently in a relationship with McFly band member Dougie Poynter and she couldn’t be happier. However, she wanted to set the record straight when it came to her ‘relationship’ with a certain pop star.

Ellie Goulding and Dougie Poynter have been dating since early this year.

Of that figure, a solid 134,000 were direct album sales, a healthy indication of the recent resurgence in physical music purchasing. Blurryface is Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun’s fourth album in total, following their Fueled By Ramen debut Vessel back in 2013.

Ed Sheeran reminisced about his early introductions to music as he hit the red carpet, feeling rather hungover, in Las Vegas ahead of his performance at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards where he was also nominated for accolades in five categories.

Ed Sheeran was nominated at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards

The British popstar certainly didn't waste his time in Sin City, making sure to party his way through his trip - leaving him a little worse for wear as he arrived before his show at the musical celebrations. He performed 'Bloodstream' (originally featuring Rudimental), but it's newest single 'Photograph' that everyone's interested in hearing about, especially since the release of the accompanying video which features various footage of Sheeran as a child.

Their third album 'Wilder Mind' stormed to the top of the charts with nearly a quarter of a million sales in its first week.

As was widely expected, folk-turned-rock group Mumford & Sons have raced to the top of the American Billboard charts, selling nearly 150% more than its nearest rival in the process. Wilder Mind, their third album, sold 249,000 copies in its first week to claim the Number 1 spot, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The figure isn’t anywhere near as large as the first week sales for their last record Babel, which shifted a whopping 600,000 units back in 2012, and remains the biggest sales week for a guitar album this decade.

According to Lawson, the two met several years ago, but he was asked to support Sheeran during his secret Dublin tour last year. He explained "from that, he took me on part of the UK tour and part of the Europe tour, and I think over that time he'd been thinking about making a record label for a while". From there, Lawson continued to say that signing to the label was a "no-brainer".

This is a reference to Noel Gallagher's criticism that modern pop stars and bands seem to be very focussed on their careers.

He’s one of the biggest musical acts in the world today and could be forgiven for living a life of excess, but Ed Sheeran is determined to keep his feet on the ground and not let his career slide away.

During a new interview with the Big Issue, Sheeran addressed Noel Gallagher’s infamous recent criticism of new artists being “careerists” and too focussed on the financial side of their music, and it would seem that he takes the label as a compliment.

Ed Sheeran reckons modern pop stars are more "savvy" than those from the past

Sheeran blamed air conditioning and frequent flying for his vocal troubles, but cut out boozing and adjusted his setlist to complete his recent tour.

The seemingly unstoppable Ed Sheeran has revealed that he feared his recent Australian tour would have to be scrapped due to vocal problems. He blamed air conditioning and extensive travelling by plane on his voice deteriorating over the course of the tour.

He told the Sydney Daily Telegraph: “It was scary. It was a difficult tour in that respect, a lot of air conditioning and a lot of flying dries you up. I had to be more sensible than I usually am.” However, he chose to power on with the tour and cut out drinking and partying in order to preserve his vocal cords.

Ed Sheeran nearly cancelled his Australian tour due to vocal cord trouble

In quite a low-selling week, the rockers sold 96,000 copies of their sophomore effort to reach the top spot in the Billboard 200 chart. The reformed system counts track equivalent sales and streaming equivalent sales, though some 91,000 of Sound & Color’s sales total came from traditional physical sales.

Alabama Shakes’ debut album Boys & Girls won the group a lot of plaudits upon its release in 2012 for its classic rock sound. It peaked at Number 6 in the American charts, nearly a year after its release, due to its three Grammy nominations in 2013.

The 'Life of the Party' singer has risen from internet fame to land a Number 1 record at his first attempt.

Internet sensation Shawn Mendes has completed his rise from a cult following on Vine to chart-topping sensation, as his full-length debut album has entered at Number 1 in the Billboard Top 200. Handwritten sold 119,000 units, including track and streaming album equivalent sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

16 year old Mendes is the youngest person to top the American album charts since 2010, when Justin Bieber – six months younger then than Mendes is now – spent a month at Number 1 with My World 2.0.

Shawn Mendes has scored his first Number 1 album with his debut 'Handwritten'

Having released just two albums, the British megastar has become just the second artist in history to reach the landmark figure.

The records just keep tumbling for Ed Sheeran! At the very start of the year he was named as the most streamed artist of 2014, and now he’s achieved another landmark.

Spotify have announced that he is the first British artist to reach two billion streams, and only the second to do so in the streaming service’s history behind Eminem. That’s only on the back of two studio albums, however, whereas the American rapper has released eight. The company also announced that his track ‘Thinking Out Loud’ is the most streamed song in the United States.

Ed Sheeran is the first British artist to reach 2 billion Spotify streams

Ed Sheeran sent a video message to a terminally ill fan on his wedding day. The singer, who is currently on tour, advised the couple to "drink a lot, dance a lot and have a lot of sex." Wise words indeed...

Ed Sheeran once again proved himself an incredibly decent human being after sending a video to a couple on their wedding day. The couple in question married earlier this week after the husband found out he was terminally ill and had only three weeks to live.

Ed Sheeran has send a video message to a terminally ill fan on his wedding day.

Ed Sheeran says he is stepping up his campaign to land a guest appearance on HBO's Game of Thrones. The British star is a big fan of the show though passed on a cameo three years ago because the shooting schedule clashed with his live shows.

Ed Sheeran says he wants a role in Game of Thrones

However, Sheeran is ready to offer his services and is looking for a role in the sixth season of the drama.

Ed Sheeran has announced a high profile slate of support acts for his three-night stint at Wembley Stadium this summer. Sheeran will be joined by Rudimental, Example, Passenger and Foy Vance will open on different nights.

Ed Sheeran will be joined by OneRepublic, Foy Vance, Rudimental and Example at Wembley Stadium

On July 10, OneRepublic and Foy Vance take to the stage, while on July 11, it'll be Rudimental and Example.

The 'Thinking Out Loud' star played some of his best-known hits for kids from the New Zealand school, and fielded some pretty tough questions from them afterwards.

British pop hero Ed Sheeran took some time out from his current tour of New Zealand to play a short gig at a local primary school, after they won a radio competition. The singer also took part in a diverse question and answer session with the children.

The megastar played a brief selection of his hit singles and then fielded some pretty tough questions from the 100-strong crowd of kids, after which he posed for pictures with everybody who wanted them, reported The Mirror.

Ed Sheeran played a gig at a primary school while on his New Zealand tour

Ed Sheeran has appeared on ‘Sesame Street’ and it’s just as cute as we'd imagined.

Ed Sheeran has appeared on ‘Sesame Street’ to perform a special song with the gang which teaches children how to behave at school. The British singer filmed the performance back in October 2013, but it has only just been made available to watch online.

Ed Sheeran has appeared on 'Sesame Street'

Sheeran announced the video’s release this morning, posting a link on his Twitter page and writing, ”Filmed that a long time ago, happy it's finally out.” So far the just under three minute video has racked up over 90,000 views (though we’re guessing quite a lot of these were from Sheeran’s more grown-up fans).

'To Pimp A Butterfly' matches its rave reviews with another week of six figure sales, meaning a second week at the top of the Billboard charts.

In a quiet week on the US Billboard 200, Kendrick Lamar’s new album To Pimp A Butterfly spends a second week in the Number One spot. The rapper’s third album sold more than double the amount of its nearest rival, the soundtrack to TV drama ‘Empire’, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Shifting 123,000 copies in its second week on sale, including track and streaming equivalent sales figures as well as physical copies, To Pimp A Butterfly is the first album to spend its opening fortnight at the top of the chart since Taylor Swift’s behemoth 1989 at the end of last year. The ‘Empire’ soundtrack was a non-mover in second place, selling 61,000 copies.

Ed Sheeran crashed an Australian couple's wedding and performed 'Thinking Out Loud' for their wedding dance.

Ed Sheeran surprised one lucky couple by performing at their wedding. The 24-year-old British singer heard Sydney radio station KIIS 1065 was preparing a special wedding for the happy couple and Sheeran offered, as the bride and groom had chosen one his songs for their first dance, to perform at the reception.

Kendrick Lamar is at Number 1 in both the US and the UK with his third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly', which came out a week earlier than scheduled last Monday.

Hip hop sensation Kendrick Lamar has stormed to Number 1 in the US Billboard 200 Albums chart with his third album To Pimp A Butterfly. It clocked up over 363,000 equivalent sales (totalling physical, track and streaming data) despite being released one week earlier than planned, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

To Pimp A Butterfly has the second highest first-week sales of 2015, behind fellow rapper Drake’s recent surprise release If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which sold 495,000 in its debut week back in February.

Sheeran plans to use Gingerbread Records to launch the careers of future stars, including his current tour support act Jamie Lawson.

The entire world’s at his feet, and yet he still wants more! As well as having two multi-million selling albums and awards coming out of his ears, Ed Sheeran has now started his own record label.

The British star is currently on a tour of Australia and spoke to Nova FM about the label, called Gingerbread. “I've set up my first record label,” he said “…and Jamie Lawson [a British singer-songwriter] is my first signing. I wanted Australia to be the launch pad because Australia is a country that I feel would really really dig Jamie.”

The British singer joins the likes of Adele and The Beatles in hitting the two million sales mark.

After picking up the Brit Award for Album of the Year last month, Ed Sheeran’s X has another achievement to add to its growing list, as the record has just past the two million sales mark in the UK. According to the Official Charts Company, the 24 year old singer can now count himself alongside Adele, Take That and The Beatles, as one of the few artists to reach the milestone.

Ed Sheeran's X has hit the two million sales mark.

X managed to hit the two million mark just 38 weeks after its release last June, which makes it the sixth fastest album to reach the milestone since 2000 and the fifth fastest-selling album of the past five years.

The British singer recently showed he has a sense of humour when it comes to criticisms about his looks.

Ed Sheeran definitely can laugh at himself! The 24-year-old British singer undoubtedly receives all kinds of fan mail on a daily basis, but he recently decided to publically share a specific letter from one of his South Korean devotees.

Sheeran was called a "little ugly" by a South Korean fan

Sheeran took to Instagram to upload a photograph of this certain letter, in which he was harshly insulted but only with good intentions, while showing that he has a great sense of humour when critics target his looks.

Despite recent reports that Taylor Swift had started dating British DJ Calvin Harris after becoming bosom buddies at the 2015 Brit Awards, the 'Shake It Off' singer is in fact single - and the pair are nothing more than platonic friends.

Taylor Swift isn't dating anyone

Ever since they were spotted getting 'cosy' at the awards show, media outlets went wild making huge assumptions that the pair were indeed embarking on a relationship. However, Swift has insisted in a recent interview that love isn't at the top of her to-do list and she certainly hasn't had a relationship in some time now. Plus, it seems Harris might indeed already be in a relationship; with model Aarika Wolf.

The rapper's third album 'Dark Sky Paradise' features contributions from Kanye and John Legend, and has made Big Sean a chart topper for the first time.

Rapper Big Sean has claimed his first Billboard chart topper with his new album Dark Sky Paradise. His third album beat Kid Rock’s latest offering First Kiss to the top spot by 27,000 units in the week ending March 1st, according to figures by Nielsen SoundScan.

Dark Sky Paradise moved 173,000 units in its first week on sale, a combination of traditional physical sales and track and streaming equivalents. Both of his previous albums, 2011’s Finally Famous and 2013’s Hall of Fame, both entered at Number 3.

Man of the moment Sam Smith makes UK chart history by topping the first Album Chart to also include streams. The star, with his debut album 'In The Lonely Hour', has already had more roaring success this year at both the Brit Awards and the Grammys.

Sam Smith gets 2015 to a very good start

Since the UK's Official Charts Company announced that they would now be including streams, the nation waited with baited breath to discover who would be the first to top the Album Chart in its new arrangement. And we remain unsurprised. Sam Smith has been awarded that victory as both sales and streams from services such as Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, Napster, O2 Tracks, Xbox Music, Rdio and Rara were totted up yesterday.

Having previously slated him, the outspoken former Oasis star has seemingly changed his mind about Ed Sheeran.

Noel Gallagher seems to have reversed his stance on Ed Sheeran, having previously described the ‘Sing’ star headlining Wembley as symptomatic of a world he couldn’t bear to live in. In a new interview with Shortlist, however, he was asked about his issues with Sheeran and replied “I won’t hear a word against him.”

So why the reversal? Normally when the former Oasis songwriter has a beef with someone, it rumbles on for years. Just ask Damon Albarn. But it appears that Gallagher’s change of heart is down to Sheeran following up on a promise to perform at the Teenage Cancer Trust show in the future.

Powered by current single 'I Bet My Life', the eclectic group secures its first ever U.S. Number One album with 'Smoke + Mirrors'.

Las Vegas rockers Imagine Dragons have landed straight in at the top spot on the Billboard 200 with their second album Smoke + Mirrors. The group, responsible for the enormous 2012 hit ‘Radioactive’, sold 195,000 units of their sophomore effort in the first week, compiled from physical, track and streaming equivalent sales according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The record is also currenly top of the charts in Britain, and is only new entry inside the Top Ten this week. Despite the impressive figures, Smoke + Mirrors has got a way to go before it tops the sales for their first album Night Visions, which to date has sold 2.5 million copies and has only left the Billboard 100 for two of its 129 weeks on sale. ‘Radioactive’, by itself, has sold in excess of nine million copies in the U.S. But that album only made as high as Number 2 during its run.

Imagine Dragons secure their first US Number 1 album with 'Smoke + Mirrors'

The British duo have done well both in Britain and the States throughout 2014, and their huge sales were recognised on Wednesday's glitzy awards ceremony.

Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith were the big winners at the Brit Awards. The annual music industry spectacular rewarded the two biggest-selling artists of last year by bestowing two trophies on each on Wednesday night (February 25th).

Sheeran won the two biggest prizes for which he was nominated – those of British Male Solo Artist and Best British Album for his sophomore record X. He beat four other UK Number 1 albums to do so – rival Smith’s In The Lonely Hour, Royal Blood’s self-titled debut, indie stars Alt-J’s This Is All Yours and George Ezra’s slow-burning debut Wanted On Voyage.

Ed Sheeran arriving for Wednesday night's Brit Awards, where he won twice

Historically it was the rowdiest night of the musical calendar, but can this year’s ceremony remind us why we once loved the Brit Awards?

Tonight Britain’s finest musical stars (plus a few from across the pond) will gather in London’s O2 for the annual Brit Awards ceremony. With Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Madonna all set to perform, this year’s awards looks to be one of the most star studded in recent years and perhaps even the most memorable.

Can Ed Sheeran expect a big night at the Brits?

The big talking point of the night will probably be the return of the queen of pop Madonna, who will take to the Brits stage to perform ‘Living for Love’ after a 20 year absence from the awards. Always looking for a new way to shock an audience, a source close to the singer told The Mirror last month there was “no better place for a controversy-filled Madonna performance than the Brits.”

It was a disappointing Grammy night for the lovable Sheeran, but the Brit singer has plenty more to look forward to.

Ed Sheeran may have walked away from the Grammy’s empty handed, but the British singer probably managed to win over some new fans on the night, thanks to his breathtaking performance of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ alongside John Mayer. But as luck would have it, those in the US who are now dreaming about seeing the flame haired singer live wont have long to wait, as Ed has just announced a 32 date summer tour!

Ed Sheeran is headed across the pond.

Kicking off on May 6th at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX, the tour will see Sheeran hit a number of major cities across the US, as well as making nine stops across the boarder in Canada.

The American rock group hit the top of the US charts with their sixth album 'American Beauty / American Psycho'.

Rockers Fall Out Boy have scored their third US Number 1 album, the latest Billboard 200 chart reveals. The group’s sixth studio album American Beauty / American Psycho shifted 218,000 units across all formats during the week ending January 25th, according to figures given by Nielsen SoundScan.

The new record knocked Meghan Trainor’s debut Title, which sold 86,000, down to Number 3, and fended off non-mover Taylor Swift at Number 2 with 119,000 units. It marks the first time since 2010 that a January sales month, typically a quiet time for major releases, has seen two albums debut at the top with sales of over 150,000.

Language barriers weren't a problem for Ed Sheeran and his Italian fans as he hit the Assago Forum in Milan on Tuesday (January 27th 2015) as part of the European leg on his 'x Tour' to an adoring crowd that loved every minute of his epic setlist.

Ed Sheeran hit Milan during his X Tour

The red-haired popstar performed tracks from both his acclaimed debut album '+' as well as his latest album 'X' which went multi-Platinum upon its release in June last year topping charts in both the UK and US and impressing critics with various gems such as 'Sing' and 'Thinking Out Loud'.

Sheeran is the first guest of the new series of 'Top Gear', and apparently ran the car off the track on a number of occasions.

He may have achieved total mastery of the pop world, but Ed Sheeran demonstrated this week that his skills on the road leave quite a lot to be desired. According to BBC's Newsbeat, the star crashed ‘Top Gear’’s ‘Reasonably Priced Car’ during filming of a regular segment of the popular show, whose new episode is due to be broadcast this weekend.

The singer, whose second album X was the biggest-seller of 2014 in the UK, does not hold a driving license and had apparently never driven a car before, so it’s hardly surprising that the red Vauxhall Astra left the track and entered the grass on a number of occasions.

The 2015 Brit Award nominations have finally been announced with, it seems, a few surprises alongside the obvious candidates. There's no prizes for guessing who's come out on top for this year's list of award-winning possibles.

Awards season rears its ominous head for another year, with some major ceremonies - in both film and music - having already taken place. We've seen prizes sent out for 2014's films; I.e. Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards, AFI Honours; and now it's time for music, with the BBC Sound of 2015 having already taken place and now The Brits and the Grammys have unveiled their candidates.

The Queen of Pop had been teasing a possible performance at this year’s awards, posting a pic on Instagram of an award mixed with her Rebel Heart artwork, along with the caption, "Rebel Hearts see you Feb 8th @TheGRAMMYs".

Both the album and single charts are looking excessively loved up in the first week of the year.

This week in the UK Singles Chart, Mark Ronson held onto the top spot with his single Uptown Funk, featuring Bruno Mars. The catchy tune maintains its position for the third non-consecutive week, having set a streaming record with 2.5 million plays in its third week on top. The song’s combined sales reached a total of over 156,000, presumably enough to take Mr. Ronson’s future children through university.

Mark Ronson is in his third week of UK Chart domination, alongside funk champion Bruno Mars.

In second place this week, there’s a finally a newcomer – Phillip George, a 21-year-old DJ entered the chart with his debut single, Wish You Were mine. The loved up theme holds strong throughout the chart with Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud taking the third spot this week. So does that mean that people are extending their winter cuddle time past the holidays and into January? That’s the only logical explanation for all these ballads.

Ed Sheeran tops a list filled exclusively with home-grown talent in what has been a superb year for British pop.

It’s been a very good year for British music! For the first time ever, the top ten best-selling albums of 2014 in the UK consists exclusively of home-grown artists.

According to figures compiled by the BPI, the British music industry’s trade body, British artists have enjoyed huge dominance in the charts over the last twelve months. The top spot was taken by a clear distance by Ed Sheeran with his second album X, which is currently sitting at the Number 1 spot in the weekly charts for the twelfth non-consecutive week.

Ed Sheeran was the biggest-selling album artist of 2014, with 1.7 million copies of X sold